Stop motion for looms



Nov. 15, 1955 w. CROTEAU STOP MOTION FOR LOOMS Filed June 1, 1955 H a 2 J a W a 4 H 4 Qfl a [I 5 a 2 3 Q 3 \H mm m 7 Uni IN VEN TOR. WILFRID CROTEAU A TTORNE V United States Patent 0 STOP MOTION FOR LOOMS Wilfrid Croteau, Fall River, Mass., assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine This invention relates to stop motions for looms, and

more particularly, to improvements in such stop motions directed toward facilitating the clearing of lint and the like which has a tendency to gather between the feeler bar holder and the sliding feeler bar of these stop motions.

It is a general object of the invention to construct the sliding feeler bar and the holder therefor for stop motions of the type described so that lint which tends to build up between the moving parts will be cleared thereby rendering the parts more easily movable and preventing distortion or riding up of the sliding bar within the holder.

More specific objects of the invention will appear from the following more detailed disclosure.

In certain types of warp stop motions as employed on looms, for example, the well known mechanical type of stop motion which employs a sliding feeler bar movable within a U-shaped feeler bar holder, both of which are notched at their top edges to cooperate in stopping the loom when a drop wire ceases to be held in elevated position by its warp thread, the space between the relatively movable bar and holder may collect lint and other particles which tends to cause considerable trouble. When weaving certain materials, for example, broadcloth or denim, a great deal of lint is .deposited on the various parts of the loom and the stop motion receives its share which, if no provision is made for clearing it, will gather in ever-increasing bulk. Lint gathered between the side walls of the sliding feeler bar and holder, and also beneath the feeler bar, tend to jam the parts and cause them to move with increasing difiiculty and also cause the sliding bar to rise within the holder, that actually being carried to such extent in some instances that the center of the bar becomes elevated entirely above the top of the holder. Of course, when the situation gets relatively bad, the parts have to be disassembled and cleaned. That is a time-consuming and troublesome task since the loom must be stopped and since it is only with great difiiculty that the compacted material is scraped from the holder in which the bar slides.

Certain efforts have been made to make these elements self-cleaning, one for example being evident in United States Patent 2,353,644, but none of these to date have been entirely successful under all circumstances and with all types of material. All have to be cleaned periodically when weaving materials which contribute to the deposit of a considerable amount of lint.

According to the present invention, a typical warp stop motion has been so constructed that it is self-clearing thereby doing away with the necessity for periodic attention and the attendant loss of production and other difiiculties encountered due to the fact that lint tends to build up in increasing amounts until eventually something has to be done to alleviate the situation. According to the preferred form of the invention, a sliding feeler bar is provided with a plurality of spaced, tooth-like serrations at its lower part and the cooperating holder is slotted at r 2,723,687 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 its sides at about the level of the serrations of the bar when the parts are assembled, these slots being so proportioncd and so spaced that the serrations move from one slot to another and instead of having to push the lint out one end of the holder, the sides thereof are open to permit it to be ejected and since the teeth move from one slot to another there are no blind areas in which lint can accumulate. A further feature which may .be employed optionally is that of bending certain spaced serrations to engage below the top surfaces of the slots in the holder thereby to prevent the feeler bar from rising within the holder.

The invention will be described in greater detail by reference to the accompanying figures of drawing, wherem:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the general arrangement incidental to such stop motions.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view showing apart of a feeler bar and holder to which the invention has been applied.

Fig. 3 is a section taken at line 33, Fig. 2; and

Fig.4 is a section taken at line 4-4, Fig. 2.

Now referring to .the figures, the stop motion to which the invention is applied is of the type shown and .described in U. S. Patent 1,729,592 and includes, among other parts, a front warp support 10, a series of sliding feeler bars, one of which is shown at 11, cooperating feeler .bar holders, one of which is illustrated at 12, these latter being held within a clamping member 13 held in position by a bolt 14 and a wing nut 15, or in any other acceptable fashion. A series of feeler bar fingers 16 are connected to their respective sliding bars and move throughout a small angular extent when the loom is in operation under :the influence of an oscillator arm 17 and other interconnected parts all described in the patent above cited and now well known in the art, therefore not necessary of further description here. It should sutfice to say that the sliding feeler bars are moved to and fro continuously and when one .of the drop wires W normally maintained in elevated position by a warp thread falls due to failure of that particular thread, the top portion of the drop wire gets caught between the projections or serrations 18 on the bar and cooperating teeth 19 .on the holder thereby locking the two elements and a finger 16 so that stopping of the loom is initiated. The action of these parts to cause stopping of the loom is well under- Stood and need not be further described here.

The feeler bar holder is actually comprised of side members 20 and 21, Figs. 3 and 4, which are spaced by a strip 22 which is also a bearing strip. The parts are spot welded or riveted or otherwise so fastened together that they form a U-shaped guide member within which the sliding feeler bar 11 is free to move since the spacer member 22 is a few thousandths of an inch thicker than the bar itself. The space between the sides of the bar and the interior guiding portion of the holder is not great, but it is sufficient to admit lint or other foreign matter great quantities of which are actually deposited therein when weaving certain materials characterized by the presence of unusual deposits of lint. When that occurs the actual movement of the parts is rendered very difiicult thereby causing strain of the parts and consuming a great deal of power along with premature wear of the parts and, more noticeable, is the fact that the deposit of lint beneath the bar and above the spacer member 22 gives rise to a false hearing which slowly, but gradually, raises the bar, that being more noticeable at the center since the ends of the bar are held down positively. Accumulations of lint may reach such proportions after a week or more of continuous operation that disassembly and cleaning become necessary.

According to the invention, the bar is provided with a plurality of tooth-like serrations 23 extending along the lower part-thereof from one end to the other of the bar, these preferably being flattened as at 24 at the bottom so as to provide a reasonably extensive bearing surface for sliding engagement on the spacer 22. The gullets 25 between the teeth or serrations are so formed as to cause the serrations to rake or incline in one direction so that they serve to push the lint in that direction, the actual form of the serrations being variable to some extent, although that illustrated is preferred.

A plurality of openings or slots 26 are formed at at least one side of the holder and preferably at both. These slots have their lower bounding edges substantially even in elevation with the spacer 22 on which the serrations 23 bear and extend upwardly at least to the extent of the depth of the gullets 25 or the actual length of the serrations themselves. These slots are preferably of about the length of three or four teeth, although dimensions may be varied, and are so spaced that a tooth moving to and fro at the space between slots will actually move from one slot to the next thereby leaving no blind areas in which lint has to be transferred from one serration to the next before being cleared. The movement of the serrations pushes the lint out through the slots and it is virtually impossible for any appreciable quantity thereof to accumulate. As an actual matter of fact, stop motions of this type have been run for several months without any attention incident to cleaning the bars or holders, although the loom was weaving materials which are characterized by depositing relatively great amounts of lint.

If desired, certain ones of the serrations, for example that at 27, may be bent laterally so as to retain the slide downwardly within the holder thereby to prevent chattering or rising, thus contributing to smoother operation. The positive holding of the parts, especially intermediate the extremities of the bars and holders prevents the center from riding up as it might possibly tend to do and thereby cause the parts to be less effective in clearing at the center than at other points. However, the device works very nicely without these laterally bent tabs and they are an alternative feature which may be used when and if desired.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a warp stop motion for looms having a feeler bar holder and a feeler bar slidable therein, means for clearing lint and the like which tends to accumulate between ,4 the said holder and bar which comprises tooth-like serrations projecting along the lower part of the feeler bar and cooperating means defining elongated openings in the side of the holder adjacent to said serrations.

2. In a warp stop motion for looms having a feeler bar holder and a feeler bar slidable therein, means for clearing lint and the like which tends to accumulate between the said holder and bar which comprises tooth-like serrations projecting along the lower part of the feeler bar and cooperating means defining elongated openings in the side of the holder adjacent to said serrations, said openings being spaced apart along the holder a distance less than the movement of a single serration of the bar along the holder.

3. In a warp stop motion for looms having a feeler bar holder and a feeler bar slidable therein, means for clearing lint and the like which tends to accumulate between the said holder and bar which comprises tooth-like serrations projecting along the lower part of the feeler bar and cooperating means defining elongated openings at each side of the holder at substantially the height of the bar serrations when the parts are assembled in operating relationship, said openings being spaced apart a distance less than the movement of a single serration of the bar along the holder.

4. In a warp stop motion for looms having a feeler bar holder and a feeler bar slidable therein, means for clearing lint and the like which tends to accumulate between the said holder and bar which comprises tooth-like serrations projecting along the lower part of the feeler bar and cooperating means defining elongated openings in the side of the holder adjacent to said serrations, certain ones of said serrations being bent laterally to engage within their respective openings to limit upward movement of a bar within its holder.

5. In a warp stop motion for looms having a feeler bar holder and a feeler bar slidable therein, means for clearing lint and the like which tends to accumulate between the said holder and bar which comprises tooth-like serrations projecting along the lower part of the bar, said serrations being raked for moving lint in one direction and having substantial flat bearing portions, and cooperating means defining elongated openings in the holder through which lint is ejected, said openings being at least as high as the depth of the serrations on the bar and so spaced that during movement of the bar in the holder a single tooth is moved from one opening to the next.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

